The Toy Department – Episode 194

In Episode 194, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky went with a second straight Toy Department After Dark (and a day late), with focus on:

  • The season (and potentially series) finale of Watchmen on HBO (3:25), and how its slow build to the end rewarded viewers with another great Damon Lindelof show…
  • The new Netflix film Marriage Story (12:35) and the guys’ differing views on its success as a story of divorce…
  • The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 Reunion special (27:35) and the assorted dramatics that took place there…
  • 19 for 19 (40:55)… Also known as year-end BEST OF lists from each of your hosts…
  • Homework for after the holidays (1:21:05), including: the Netflix cartoon Tuca and Bertie, four movies — the Amazon film The Report, Parasite, the new Star Wars film and the new Adam Sandler vehicle Uncut Gems– and trying the show Unbelievable on Netflix…

The Toy Department – Episode 193

In Episode 193, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky deliver Toy Department After Dark (and a day late) and get into:

  • The film Brittany Runs A Marathon on Amazon Prime (1:30) and what a surprisingly heartfelt and well-made film it turned out to be…
  • The new film Queen & Slim (9:15) and the importance of diverse and interesting voices in the film world…
  • The reboot of Showtime’s The L Word (22:20) and how it’s just way too far over the top for Kolsky to get into as a newcomer…
  • The return of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (29:00) and how both guys are still enjoying it, but it may be running out of road if it doesn’t grow somewhat…
  • The season (and maybe series) finale of HBO’s Mrs. Fletcher (32:40) and how it hit the guys very differently…
  • The last episode of The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 (39:05), some favorite moments and all the incredible drama that went down…
  • Homework for next week (1:05:40), including: 2019 year-end favorites, the end of Watchmen on HBO, some thoughts on the Challenge Reunion special and the new Netflix film Marriage Story…
  • Thirty seconds on Mike Birbiglia’s new Netflix stand-up special (1:08:00) which was good…

The Toy Department – Episode 192

In Episode 192, Derek Madden and Matt Kolsky suffer through various ailments to deliver an abbreviated episode focusing on:

  • Martin Scorsese’s new Netflix film The Irishman (5:00) and the infuriatingly pretentious reaction from film critics and twitter cinephiles…
  • Homework for next week (25:40), including: making up for this week by getting to the film Brittany Runs A Marathon on Amazon Prime and Mike Birbiglia’s new Netflix stand-up special, plus check-ins on Watchmen and Mrs. Fletcher, and adding in the new film Queen & Slim as well as the reboot of the L Word on Showtime and the new season of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon…
  • A quick (and glowing) reaction to the new film Knives Out (27:15) and how much fun can be had in a movie theater…